Buyers Edge Platform represents a network of companies and 45,000 operator locations. It extends its technology solutions, partnerships, and contracts to its members empowering them to improve their client service offerings by leveraging the Platform’s $7 Billion in volume, resources and collective scale.

Buyers Edge Platform and its related companies, including Dining Alliance, Consolidated Concepts, Buyers Edge Purchasing and others have signed a new agreement to partner with entegra Procurement Services, a division of Sodexo North America, to provide their extensive portfolio of supplier agreements to operators.

Buyers Edge Platform represents the emergence of a new player in the Food Procurement Services industry, which currently lacks a diversity of options.

WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Twenty years after father-son duo Clifford and John Davie bootstrapped Dining Alliance, a Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) for local foodservice operators in Rochester, New York, they have leveraged their national scale and massive buying power to unveil the Buyers Edge Platform. Buyers Edge Platform is a network of GPOs, service companies, technology providers, and supply chain consultants currently serving over 45,000 locations throughout the foodservice ecosystem. Buyers Edge Platform will go-to-market with its $7 billion in purchasing power to provide competitive, price-driven direct contracts on behalf of its foodservice procurement members: Dining Alliance (Original GPO founded by the Davies), Consolidated Concepts, Buyers Edge Purchasing, Axis Purchasing, Sundell and Associates, RP Procurement, FoodBAM, Source1 Purchasing, Fresh Concepts and other member GPOs and consulting companies.

On the heels of the Platform launch, CEO John Davie, has also made a major announcement of his plans to move the purchasing volume of Buyers Edge Platform and its member companies to entegra Procurement Services, a division of Sodexo North America. Entegra’s collaborative approach and industry leading portfolio of supplier agreements made them the right partner for the Buyers Edge Platform. The entegra portfolio of supplier agreements will be paired with custom agreements negotiated by the Buyers Edge Platform team or the Sodexo team to further enhance the value created for the member companies and participants of the Buyers Edge Platform. “We had our choice of partners and did three years of due diligence. Entegra proved to be the most flexible, competitive and forward thinking and we’re excited about the future of this partnership,” says Davie. Buyers Edge Platform and its affiliated member companies will begin on October 1st, a phased wind-down of the eight-year contract they have been operating under with Compass-Foodbuy. Entegra President Dana Johnston noted that “Entegra looks forward to supporting the growth and value-creation of the dynamic Buyers Edge Platform through the strength of our supplier portfolio of agreements, our commitment to collaboration with our clients and our industry knowledge as the leading Group Purchasing Organization in North America.”

Over twenty purchasing-oriented firms have already joined Buyers Edge Platform, including purchasing consultants, technology providers, several GPOs, a loyalty rewards program, a leading fresh produce management company, and several iconic food and supplies manufacturers. By opening up the platform to members outside the “family” of companies Davie owns, he plans to spur collaboration, transparency, data and opportunity sharing, and, most importantly, amass purchasing clout well beyond its current $7 Billion to unleash the best pricing that will dramatically benefit foodservice operators bottom lines.

At the core of the platform is the Buyers Edge software, which provides powerful data management, contract management, and analytics tools. “Our $7 Billion in purchasing volume is about much more than just buying power,” says John Davie. “That figure represents our ability to bring technology solutions and services that are normally reserved for the largest of operators to all levels of foodservice operators, at very little to no cost.”

Leverage Buying Group has partnered with the Buyers Edge Platform as a GPO Member. According to VP of Programs and Member Services, Jack Frost, “The formation of the Buyers Edge Platform is a transformational development in the Source GPO space. Customers will benefit from the increased transparency and competition. Leverage Buying Group is excited to have a front row seat in the rollout and we are energized by the potential for greater savings and the increased value that we can offer our members through the platform. The ability to customize services allows us greater flexibility and increases our ability to attract new members.”

The Buyers Edge Platform offers benefits to stakeholders throughout the foodservice procurement value chain, including manufacturers, GPO’s, consultants, sales organizations, operators, distributors, or any other company that seeks transparent, full-service GPO capabilities.

Manufacturers of food supplies and equipment can leverage Buyers Edge Platform’s data and technology services to gain insights about their operator and GPO trade spend and use those insights from the networks 45,000 operators to sell more product, deploy customized promotions, and provide valuable feedback for product development. Manufacturers may also leverage the Buyers Edge Platform portfolio of service offerings and programs to make their direct sales teams and broker networks more efficient and effective. Buyers Edge Platform recently established a pricing contract with Unilever Food Solutions, producer of popular products such as Hellmann’s Mayonnaise and Pure Leaf Tea. “As a provider of premium food brands, Unilever has derived incredible value from our partnership with Buyers Edge Platform,” says Bartosz Sandecki, Director of Sales North America. “Within 6 months of working with Buyers Edge Platform, we have already seen an increase in sales as a result of their approaches to manufacturer marketing, account management, data service and double-dip identification.”

Group Purchasing Organizations and consultants allied with Buyers Edge Platform can offer powerful pricing advantages to their members. Members can access Buyers Edge Platform’s software to clean and normalize purchasing data, process rebates, audit price contracts, and perform other data functions. In addition to accessing the best prices, GPOs have the opportunity to leverage Buyers Edge Platform’s sales, marketing, and technology services to improve their business’s productivity, scale and value proposition. “Since most of our operators are restaurant owners, and not institutional feeders, we will focus on low prices vs. rebates, unlike many of our competitors,” Davie adds.

Food and restaurant supply distributors stand to gain new business by embracing and contracting with platform member GPO’s. Not only will partner distributors, disposable companies, produce companies who work with member GPO’s gain new customers and volume through this partnership, but they will benefit from the Buyer Edge Platform technologies and data resources deployed by members for customer acquisition purposes.

With Buyers Edge Platform’s buying power, operator-driven pricing, service offerings, technology, partnership with entegra, and reach across so many verticals, John Davie has seized the opportunity to drive large-scale change in the $260 billion foodservice supply chain. For more information please contact info@buyersedgeplatform.com or visit http://www.buyersedgeplatform.com.

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